Elikapeka
by WorldTravelGirl
Summary: Bella is now an internationally known singer. She has arrived on Oahu to do a series of concerts. How does she know about Five-0? What intrigue does she bring with her? And really, how does she know Steve? Twists the Twilight story after Edward leaves in New Moon. Five-0 setting a bit more ambiguous and twisty - I kept things I liked and ignored others.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first story incorporating Hawaii Five-0. Love the show and the characters so I hope I do them justice. This is the first chapter in a multi-chapter story.

"Steve, the Governor's office called while you were out. Some high profile singer is coming to the island next week and they want Five-0 to do security for it." Danny called as Steve walked back into HQ.

"Why didn't they call me?" Steve asked

Danny a little confused by the lack of reaction given the current state of the case they were working replied, "They did. I guess you didn't answer and so they called me as the backup."

"OK" Steve replied as he headed to his office.

"REALLY! _OK_ , that is all I'm going to get? Why aren't you more upset about this? We are in the middle of a murder investigation that has been torture from the get go due to lack of evidence. We don't need to be wasting our time being security for some pop princess who is nervous about a few threats!" Danny ranted as his hands flew around his head.

"Wow, brah. You need to calm down." Kono interjected from the table.

"Danny, the Governor is our boss. He asked us to run security on this. He know's our primary objectives and strengths I have to believe that he has a good reason for his request." Steve returned calmly, "As for our current investigation, I was actually on the phone with Max and he was able to narrow down the window of the TOD with Charlie's help. It is looking like the wife is implicated in the murder."

 **5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI5-0/TWI~5-0/TWI**

"Oh my God! Danno, did you hear that Isabella is going to be performing in Hawaii this month?" Grace exclaimed as she got into the car.

"Is that right, Monkey? Who is Isabella?" Danny asked distractedly as he pulled back into traffic.

"She is only the best singer ever! Not only is she is amazing but she does TONS of charity work too. She isn't one of those shallow singers either. She actually volunteers for the charities she donates to too!" Grace gushed. "She is going to do a concerts for the public at the Blaisedell Arena but also doing a concert exclusively for the military at Pearl-Hickam. It was just announced today that the tickets are going on sale at the end of the week for the public concert. It is going to be Friday, May 27th. The Pearl-Hickam concert is going to be Sunday, for Memorial Day. I really hope I am able to get tickets!"

'Ah, well the phone call from the Governor's office made more sense now. Coordinating security from the public venues to the base would be more easily handled by Five-0 given Steve's background than HPD. Maybe I should have listened a bit more closely during the call', Danny thought as the dots connected for him.

"Well, let's see what we can do about getting tickets. Memorial Day is something I wanted to talk to you about Monkey. I know it is our weekend and mom is going to be in Vegas with Step-Stan, but I was told I am going to have to work part of that weekend today. Given this new information, what if you see if you and your friends can plan a sleepover for that weekend on Friday? I assume your friends are just as excited for this news as you!" Danny proposed. He didn't want to tell her exactly why he had to work until he had more information. Thankfully, Steve called the Governor's office back that afternoon and had a meeting scheduled with them tomorrow afternoon while the rest of them wrapped up the paperwork from the case.

Grace looked sad as Danny told her about his need to work that weekend but brightened right up when he offered a sleepover as an alternative.

"We had already been talking about it. I was going to ask if we could hold it since it was our weekend, but Kealani was also talking about having it at her house. I'll text her now and say that she can have it at her house. Kealani, Stacey, Rose, Mahina and I were all talking about it today. They were going to go home tonight and ask their parents if we could have a sleepover and go to the concert on Friday." Grace told Danny.

"Well, I am OK with the sleepover on Friday and I will talk to your mom when I drop you off about the concert. I also know Uncle Steve wants to have a barbeque on Monday afternoon too." Danny agreed as he punched in the code for the gate at Rachel's house.

As Rachel opened the door, she looked surprised that Danny was getting out of the car.

"OK Monkey, why don't you go in and start your homework while I talk to Mom." Danny told Grace as he released her from the hug they shared at the door.

"Daniel, how can I help you?" Rachel inquired.

"Well, first Grace wants to go to a concert at the end of the month. Isabella is coming to the island to perform and Grace and all of her friends want to go. They also want to have a sleepover that night. I told her I would talk it over with you. It is my weekend with her, Memorial Day weekend but I wanted to talk to you about it. I was just informed I am going to have to work on that Friday night. Five-0 has been called into handle security for Isabella. I told Grace I had to work on Friday night so was OK with the sleepover. I haven't told her why I have to work until I have more details. What do you think about Grace attending a concert? I assume we will liaise with the other parents." Danny informed Rachel.

"Why was Five-0 called in for security and not HPD? Is there some type of threat, because if so I don't want Grace to go." Rachel probed.

"I don't think there is a threat. But, like I said I don't have all the details. We got a call from the Governor's office today saying we were in charge of coordinating her security on the island. Grace told me she is also holding a concert at Pearl-Hickam on Sunday exclusively for the military and their families, so I assume it is because of that we were put in charge. With Steve's connections on the base it will make it easier for us to liaise then HPD. Steve has a meeting with the Governor's office tomorrow to get more details. Thankfully we just wrapped a case today and will have some time to devote to this." Danny explained.

"OK. I guess that does make sense. But, please keep me informed if there is anything I need to know. Who is going to hold the sleepover?" Rachel asked.

"I always do Rachel, even when it doesn't look good for me. You know that. Kealani wants to have it and since I won't be around that night Grace let her know it was fine." Danny answered.

"Well, I have no problem with the sleepover. They will be starting summer holiday the following week anyway. It would have more impact for you. As for the concert, as long as Kealani's parents go or one of the others I don't have a problem with it. I would feel better if one of us were going, but if you are going to be there anyway it should be fine." Rachel told Danny. "How are they going to coordinate the tickets and who is going?"

"I don't know. Grace said the girls were going to go home tonight and talk it over with their parents. The tickets go on sale on Friday, so I would say we can speak with the parents tomorrow night to plan who is going and how to get the tickets. Since Grace has cheering with the girls tomorrow, maybe you can speak with them when you pick her up? Does that work for you?" Danny questioned.

"Yes, I will do that and let you know what is decided." Rachel agreed.

"OK. Do you want to call up to Grace, so we can let her know? I am sure she has been texting her friends for updates." Danny asked.

Rachel nodded and motioned for Danny to follow her into the entryway. "Grace! Please come down here" Rachel called.

"So?" Grace asked as she came sprinting down the stairs.

"Your father and I have talked it over and have agreed to let you go to the concert with your friends. But, we have to speak with your friends parents since I am going to be away and your father has to work. You are not going to be allowed to go without parental supervision. I assume since Kealani has volunteered to host a sleepover one of her parents will be going, but we want to discuss it with all of the parents. Since you have cheer with the girls tomorrow, I will speak to their parents then and plan a bit more." Rachel told Grace.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! It is going to be SO AMAZING!" Grace squealed. "Kealani texted me earlier and her parents are on board with a sleepover and the concert. We are still waiting to hear from Rose and Mahina."

"I'm glad you are excited Monkey. I will be speaking with your mom tomorrow after she sees the other parents. We will get it worked out. I have to head out now." Danny interjected. Grace ran over and hugged her father. "Danno loves you" he whispered. "Love you too!" Grace replied.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Last chapter was the set up which this continues a bit. The next chapter will have some meat to it. Let me know your thoughts!

Chin, Kono and Danny were standing at the Smart Table, the morning had been productive clearing up the details of the last case and starting the paperwork. Danny had even gotten Steve to start on the portions he was responsible for before heading out to his meeting at the Governor's office. While they had been finishing up, Danny had Chin run background on Isabella. Now it was time to get into their new assignment.

"OK. I am sure we will have more specifics on what we are expected to do once Steve gets back from the meeting, but we can at least get some more background on our protectee." Danny stated "Chin you have the floor, what did you find?"

Chin swipes a publicity photo up on the screens so everyone can see who they will be protecting.

"Isabella Marie Swan. DOB is September 13, 1986. Her license gives an address in Forks WA as her permanent address, but from everything I have found it has been about 10 years since she has spent any significant amount of time there. She attended University of Washington on a partial scholarship. She majored in literature and business. It looks like she worked in a bar singing to make up the difference in her scholarship and that is where she was discovered. She didn't give interviews or tour for that matter, for the first 3 years of career, but her first record hit multi platinum within 2 months of its release. She writes the majority of the songs she records and actually appeals to a variety of demographics. From what I was able to find out, once she signed her contract, she organized with the university to finish her degrees remotely, moved to Los Angeles and put out 3 records in 3 years."

"I read an interview she did with Vanity Fair a year or so ago. She seemed super down to earth and not at all what you imagine a superstar singer to be like" Kono contributed.

"It looks like she takes charity seriously. Whenever she is in a city with a military base she tries to do a concert exclusively for them. So this concert at Pearl-Hickam is normal. In fact, her first concert ever was a charity concert at the base in San Diego. She has organized benefit concerts for police benevolent societies and has also worked with a number of Native American Rights groups, raising awareness about the issues on the Native reservations, especially education." Chin continued. "In one interview she talked about her dedication to charity and giving back. Evidently, her father was the police chief of her town. His dedication led in part to her parents divorce but he felt it was a calling and he passed those ideas on to his daughter. He died in the line of duty just before she was discovered."

"So she isn't an air-head pop princess, but someone with an actual head on their shoulders" Danny summarized.

"Well, my mother always called me her middle aged daughter, even when I was 8." a voice interjected.

Chin, Kono and Danny swung around at the sound. Before them stood Isabella, although she didn't look anything like the publicity photo up on the screens. While still stylish, her look was more low key. Her long hair was pulled back in a low ponytail with her sunglasses perched atop. She had on black silk cargo pants, a fuchsia halter top while her feet were encased in black strappy sandals.

Standing behind her stood a gigantic Native American man. He stood nearly 7 feet tall and was dressed in long khaki shorts and white linen button down shirt.

"Ah, how can we help you?" Danny asked fumbling a bit as he was caught off guard by their arrival.

"Well, I was told Five-0 was coordinating the security for my time here in Hawaii, so I thought I would check in with you. Oh, I brought my head of security for this portion of my trip along too. In case you needed him for any questions." Isabella responded as she gestured to the man towering over her.

"I'm a little confused. We were only informed yesterday about this and assumed, since your concerts weren't until the end of the month you would be arriving a little closer to that deadline." Danny stated wondering when Steve was going to get back from his meeting. "Do you want to join us in the conference room so we can speak a bit more privately?"

"Sure" Bella replied as she followed the team into the conference room, "Well to answer your question, I finished my commitments on the mainland and actually have nothing planned until the concerts at the end of the month. So, I thought I would come early to Oahu. My husband is always telling me to change up my routine. I thought I would take his advice this time" Isabella laughed.

As the team looked to the large man that had accompanied her, Isabella corrected them. "Oh no, this is my friend Embry. He isn't my husband, just acting head of security."

'Husband? Chin didn't mention anything about being married. I would have thought it would be one of the first things to pop, but I guess we had just started' Danny thought as he continued aloud, "Nice to meet you. I'm Detective Danny Williams, these are two members of our team, Lt. Chin Ho Kelly and Officer Kono Kalakua. The head of Five-0, Lt Cmdr Steve McGarrett is actually at the Governor's office meeting about you as we speak." Danny introduced. As Danny was speaking, a fleeting smirk came across Embry's face. "He should actually be on his way back now."

"No worries." Isabella responded. "Can we answer any questions for you while we wait?"

"May I ask, if you know, how Five-0 became involved in your security?" Danny asked. Something was tingling in the back of his brain. Something that Chin mentioned during the briefing but hadn't gelled for him yet. This wasn't a coincidence.

"Oh, sure. I actually met the Commander when I first started out. He was just a lieutenant then. When everything came together for the concert at Pearl-Hickam I asked my publicist to get in touch with the Governor to see if Five-0 could handle things. I thought it might make the logistics of it all easier on everyone." Isabella answered with a hint of a smile playing across her mouth. As she went to to add more, Embry touched her arm. Simultaneously, Danny saw Steve return to HQ.

'Strange', Danny thought, 'there was no way with his back to the glass wall to know Steve had returned'. Looking over, he waved to his partner to come to the conference room.

As Steve opened the door, Danny stood up to start the introductions. "Isabella, Steve McGarrett…"

"Is? What are you doing here?" Steve interrupted as he walked into the room.

"Hi Sailor. My husband keeps telling me that I need to change up my routine. Surprise!" Isabella laughed as she stood and threw herself into Steve's arms.

As Steve drew her into a fierce hug, he whispered, "so now you listen to me, huh." and pulled her up and closer into a kiss. Their bodies in perfect alignment as they sank into each other as if they had finally been reunited with their other half.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews! I do love seeing that people are enjoying the story. This is a mega chapter with tons of backstory. It sets up a lot but doesn't reveal everything. Let me know what you think!

 _Previously: As Steve drew her into a fierce hug, he whispered, "so now you listen to me, huh." and pulled her up and closer into a kiss. Their bodies in perfect alignment as they sank into each other as if they had finally been reunited with their other half._

A cough finally drew them out of the kiss. A yelp of 'WHAT!' finally broke them apart to see the rest of the room.

"Embry, nice to see you again." Steve greeted as he shook Embry's hand.

"Ah, no. You are not going to ignore the rest of us in the room after you drop that bomb. How did we not know you are married? How is it possible I, your partner of years, did not know you were married?!" Danny shrieked.

Steve had yet to let go of Isabella. He looked back at his team and tried to answer Danny's question. From their reactions he could tell, Chin had known, maybe not who but definitely that Steve was married. He hadn't hid it from his father and so John must have passed along the information. Kono and Danny both had expressions of dismay on their face.

"It wasn't something I was trying to purposely hide from you." Steve tried to explain. "We got married five years ago, but due to her touring and my deployments we have never really been able to be in the same place. It wasn't safe for her or me for her to tell anyone she was married to me. A select group of our friends knew, and my father." At this both Kono and Danny swung their gazes to Chin and realized he had known something.

Seeing their expressions, he clarified "I knew Steve had gotten married. I gave John a ride to the airport when he flew out for it and he was so excited to be invited. I didn't know who Steve was married to or even if he still was since he hasn't mentioned it since he's been home."

"What about Cath?" Danny questioned. He could understand Steve's point but thought they had come a lot further in their relationship than they obviously had. Steve knew everything about Grace, but couldn't seem to share something as significant as a wife.

"I told you she wasn't my girlfriend. She is a friend. She was there when Is and I got married actually." Steve spelled out. "She was the one that organized for Is to do a concert at Pearl this month. Which reminds me, she was at my meeting and needs one of your people to call her about some details."

"I will call her. I want to catch up and this will be a great excuse to do it. Oh, that reminds me," Isabella answered and turned to Danny "I need to know how many tickets Gracie needs for the concert Friday."

"Woah, Woah. How do you know about my daughter and why do you think she wants to go to the concert?" Danny asked waving his hands.

"Steve talks about Gracie all the time. I can't wait to meet her in person. From everything he has said she sounds like an amazing person. I just hope she isn't too disappointed in Steve" Isabella responded glancing up at Steve as she ended. "My past has made me a really private person and the fame that came along with my singing didn't help that. After meeting Steve, with his job, it just made sense that for his protection and to keep him mine I don't talk about him. As for going to the concert, Steve told me she listened to my music. I figured when it was announced she would want to go."

"Well, you are right. It was the first thing she said to me when I picked her up from school yesterday. She and her friends were talking about having a sleepover and going to the concert. Since I was going to have to work, one of her friends was going to hold the sleepover and my ex-wife is speaking to the other parents tonight about the logistics of going to the concert. So I will let you know what is decided." Danny agreed

"I want to know how you two met!" Kono exclaimed.

Since it seemed they were moving into story time, Steve moved to the conference table and pulled Isabella down into the seat next to him. Embry re-took his seat as well.

Steve and Isabella looked at each other. They seemed to have a whole conversation without a word spoken.

Isabella turned to the group and started, "I had just finished my degree and my third album within months of each other and the record company was pressuring me to start touring. I had been really lucky when I signed my original contract, one of my business professors referred me to a friend of his, a lawyer, who really went to bat and made sure I was protected. It was written into my contract that I was not obliged to tour or do any promotion until my degree was finished. As long as I continued to produce material and earn my degree I was free to focus on my music and studies. Then all of a sudden, I had my degree. I went back to Seattle for commencement and it was great. All my friends from home came. I was back to being regular me, Bella Swan"

Embry snorted, "Yeah, regular, that would be the word I would use for you Bells. Normal even, right?"

"Shut up Em. You know what I mean. There wasn't anyone from home in LA. They called me Isabella all the time!" Isabella whined. "It was good, because I was super focused and got of lot work done, but I missed home."

"OK. Yes, you are right. We weren't able to visit as often as we thought once you had moved down there. It worked out but we did miss you too" Embry softened.

"Anyway, I knew the reprieve was going to come to an end and they would start demanding more from me. I talked it over with my godfather while I was home and he helped me realize if I took control like I had done at the beginning I would be able to do the things that I felt comfortable with while still fulfilling my obligations to the record company and ultimately my fans." Isabella continue.

"OK, I am going to stop you here, because I have to ask. How do you prefer to be addressed? You are ohana and going to be around, so we want to make sure you are comfortable" Kono asked caringly.

Isabella leaned more into Steve and whispered, "you were right. We'll talk more tonight." Then turned back to Kono, "Thank you, Kono. You don't know how good it feels to be accepted like that especially in light of how I have been sprung on you.."

"Too be fair, I was going to tell them before you got here, but you decided to show up here unexpectedly." Steve interjected.

"Yes dear, I am sure you would have. But now you don't have to handle the interrogation alone!" Isabella agreed with a smile. "When I am working I prefer Isabella, even with my friends. For me Isabella is a bit of a persona I put on so it helps me keep it in place when working. It also helps to even the playing field because I do have a lot of my friends working around me. I don't want some people to feel alienated for some imagined slight because they call me something different. It also helps with the safety issue. Everyone calls me Isabella, so no one is targeted as being close to me. Saying all that, I prefer Bella. As you heard Embry, there are derivations of that friends call me but it is what I prefer. Steve is the only one that calls me Is or Isa. I hope that works for everyone." She concluded pensively.

"No problem sistah. Despite what Danny might think, we can act professional and we will respect what you need!" Kono finished teasingly and stuck her tongue out to Danny.

"I never said you couldn't act professional. I said Steve wouldn't know professional if it walked up and shook his hand" Danny teased back.

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I am going to be around a lot more now and I would love to get to know you all better. Anyway, so after my graduation and getting my head straight with my family, I flew back down to LA and called my agent to set up a meeting with him to talk about renewing my contract. The night before the meeting I had headed down to the beach on Coronado to get my head together. I wanted to make sure I had all my negotiation points straight so that we could get through as much as possible during the meeting. So I am sitting on the beach with my notebook and pen writing furiously when a football lands in my lap. I hadn't been paying attention and while I wasn't looking a group of SEALS had invaded my beach playing football and generally letting off steam." Isabella continued with a smile. "So here I am with this football in my lap. If you knew me better you would understand the irony in that because I am probably the most accident prone person you have ever met and do not do sports especially contact sports."

"Seriously, you make non-contact sports contact when you pull everyone down when you fall!" Embry chortled.

"Hush you!" Bella laughed "Now, the guys are yelling at me to throw it back to them. I must have the biggest deer in the headlights expression on my face because one of them jogged over to me to pick it up. He asked if I knew how to throw a football at all. When I replied that I didn't he offered to teach me with this smirk on his face." Isabella looked at Steve, "That one!" She said as she pointed to his face.

"I told him I didn't want to be the reason his military career ended prematurely. Of course that just made him laugh, but he threw the ball back to his team mates and sat down with me and started asking me why I was wasting a gorgeous day at the beach so focused on a notebook." Bella continued.

"I'll take over from here!" Steve interrupted. "We had just finished BUD/S and were just waiting for graduation and our orders to come down so my classmates and I decided to go down to the beach to, as Is said, blow off some steam and hang out. We could finally relax after the previous weeks of hell and what was most likely going to be coming hell. As we got to the beach, everyone decided to do their own thing. Freddie and I" Steve's voice caught for a second at the mention of his best friend. Bella grabbed his hand and squeezed, bringing his hand up to kiss the back. "Right" Steve continued, "so Freddie and I decided to throw the football around for a bit. I had seen this gorgeous girl on the beach but hadn't decided what my approach should be and then Freddie threw this lame pass that landed in her lap. She's right, her face was priceless. I didn't even know eyes could get that big, but it was the perfect opportunity. Freddie stuck by his claim that he did it on purpose because he could see how I looked at her, but I swear that was a lucky pass - for me" Steve smiled at Bella. " I had to know what was so engrossing that she was so oblivious to what was going on around her. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful beach and there was no reason to be stuck writing in a notebook."

"So I explained that I had a really important meeting the next day and it was imperative that I be as prepared as possible because it would determine how my future moved forward. I think he was most impressed that I knew what imperative meant!" Bella ended on a shriek as Steve reached over to tickle her.

"So we sat there talking the rest of the afternoon. I explained that I just finished BUD/S and was waiting for orders after the graduation ceremony the following week. She told me about her meeting with her agent and taking charge of how her career was going to move forward. I played devil's advocate as she argued her different points until she felt completely prepared for the following day. When it started to get dark my classmates decided to head to the bar and I invited her along. I wasn't ready to give up talking to her. But she wanted to get home and it was a bit of a drive back to LA at that hour, so I told her no matter how the meeting went she had to meet me at the bar the following night. It would either be a commiserating or celebrating party, but no matter what I wanted to see her. We exchanged numbers and I went to the bar where I proceeded to get ragged on for the rest of the night while she made her way home."

"She made her way home, but called and gushed to Leah the whole time she was driving back to LA." Embry threw in with a laugh.

"I couldn't help it! I had to talk to someone about the great guy I had just met! At that point I still really sucked at talking to people I didn't know especially men. My dating history was atrocious and I don't have many close female friends." Isabella added as an aside. "It always seems like I am surrounded by guys, so Leah was my go to person for this. Ang would have tattled to Jake who would have shown up on my door before I even got home!" Bella answered.

"I hear you girl! I am constantly surrounded by guys and sometimes they just don't get it. Of course, I do have female cousins but they are super girly and, I swear, they were put on this earth to try my patience." Kono agreed.

"See! So, I talked to Leah on my way home and spent most of the night having weird dreams. The next day I spent most of it with my agent. I explained what I wanted and how I wanted to continue protecting myself and asked what he thought and if he thought I could get the record company to agree. We went back and forth about a couple of points, interviews and publicity being the main point of contention. He thought I should be doing more promotion and he thought the record company would push for it. It is the one thing that I stood firm on even when the record company tried to push back like he said they would. My agent is great and gets me, so he works for me how I need him to. The concession that I did make was that I would start touring almost immediately. I was bummed because I was hoping to be able to get back to Forks before everything hit the fan and explain what I was going to do, but it wasn't going to happen. After I left the meeting I called a family meeting back home and Skyped with them so my family knew what was going on and how my life was going to change. After the meeting was over, I got Leah to stay on and help me pick out an outfit to wear to meet Steve and his friends. I was super nervous but determined to go!" Bella continued.

"I didn't think you had much family." Chin questioned "Sorry, but we already started on the background check, as you saw."

"No problem. I get it, trust me. Well, officially no, I don't have much family left. I have my mother and step-father, but after my father's funeral I cut ties with them. But, my godfather, Billy, was my dad's best friend and I was always close to his kids especially his son, Jake. When I moved back to Forks in high school, I was adopted by Jake and his friends" Bella explained with a pat on Embry's arm.

"Billy is the chief of the Quileute and has always had a soft spot for Bells. She has basically been adopted as Quileute now. Jake, his son, was in love with her for the longest time, but he is thankfully past that now." Embry clarified. "A little while after she moved back to Forks she started hanging around the rez again and just became part of our family. When her dad died, we helped to take care of her and just tried to be around to make sure she was staying safe. It's what Billy wanted and what Charlie would have too. Once she started touring, she needed security and people around to help facilitate things, so we rotate as her head of security for different portions of the tour. This is my leg. I won a bet!" Embry finished with smirk.

"So you decided to keep your promise and meet the new SEAL!" Kono jumped in. "What did you end up wearing? God, I sound like such a girl"

"Oh yeah. I wasn't going to pass up a chance to see him again. There was just something about him that made me want to see more. I swear it was like heroin, addicted on my first exposure." Bella agreed with a weird laugh.

Steve pulled a face next to her that Danny couldn't figure out. 'It seems there are a whole new set of faces I am going to have to learn' he thought.

As if she could see it, despite not looking at him, Bella patted his arm. Quietly she whispered, "if I can laugh about that now, so can you." She continued the story, "I decided to keep in casual but dressy. So I actually wore something similar to what I am wearing now. But no heels! I hadn't learned to walk in heels yet. I actually had Leah come down to help me after my first concert and put me through a heels boot camp! I can now successfully walk in them" Bella said with a fist pump.

"I think it is my turn now," Steve took over "so I convinced the guys that we needed to go out again the next night. I had told Freddie that Is was going to meet us and hang out. I gave him a little bit of info, but not much, said she had an important meeting and either it was going to go really well or really bad, but she promised to come either way. So there we are, me killing time before she gets there playing pool with Freddie and a couple of others, when she walks in looking like this" he said with a wave in her direction. "I had thankfully thought ahead and invited some of the women we knew either through the Navy or girlfriends. Since it was a limbo period for us and some people had family flying in for the graduation, there was a mix of people to help camouflage the meet up…

"After that night, we were pretty much as inseparable as we could be given that she still had commitments in LA and I was stuck in limbo. But we saw each other as much as possible. She came out for my graduation from the SEALs. It was actually the first time I had someone there for one of my graduations" Steve said with a quick turn of his lips, not quite a frown but not the smile that had been across his face for most of the afternoon.

"I had to go back to LA to nail down my touring schedule. Since they wanted me to start right away there were a lot of people burning the midnight oil getting that arranged. I had to sign off on a lot of that as well as work with people to get staging and planning done of the actual concerts. At that time, I was a lot more low key so there weren't elaborate stages that had to be constructed or anything but still there was a lot of planning." Bella put in.

"I'm guessing that your first concert being on the base in San Diego wasn't so much of a coincidence as careful planning." Danny questioned 'It was the idea that hadn't gelled until Steve and Isabella had started their story. Her first concert being at the base in San Diego.'

"No, that was a carefully coordinated effort of my team and Cath actually. I first had to sell it to the record company who were actually a lot more on board with it than I thought they would be. Then I had to work with the Navy to make it happen. For security reasons, it couldn't be in the base on Coronado so I worked with Cath to hold it in San Diego. It worked out for the best since that is the primary Naval installation there. The SEAL graduates were told that they were also invited to a charity concert in San Diego so they would show up before shipping out. It was Steve's surprise graduation present. He thought my first concert was going to be in Seattle. I had Cath work with Freddie to get video of his face when he was pulled from the security line and escorted backstage. Funniest video ever!" Bella crowed.

"I bet there was aneurysm face!" Danny joined in.

"What?" Bella asked

"Look!" Danny pointed at Steve's face. Steve was in fact pulling his 'aneurysm face'.

"Oh, yeah that is exactly the face he pulled! He had no idea what was going on or why he was being pulled out of line. I think it started to sink in when they brought him backstage rather than kick him out." Bella agreed.

"I am also thinking that if we track a lot of your concerts at the bases, we would be able to track where Steve was on missions." Danny said with a smirk.

"I can neither confirm nor deny how my schedule may reflect Steve's movements" Bella replied with a smile. She had heard all about how the classified nature of Steve's work in the Navy drove Danny crazy. He had set her up perfectly!

"Oh God. Not you too!" Danny moaned.

Bella just laughed along with the rest of the team.

"Well, since we have wasted more than a couple of hours with story time, why don't we wrap up and head home for the night" Steve decided. "I don't know about you all but after this last case, I would like an early night home."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it. It has nothing to do with the fact that your wife has just flown in after how many months apart?" Kono laughed. "But I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. Bella it was great to finally meet you even though I didn't know you existed. We should get together sometime for lunch or something since it sounds like you don't surf."

"Ha, surf! Please, if you do go out, please, let me watch!" Embry interjected.

"Hush you. You know I have gotten so much better with my coordination. Kono, I would love to get together. And if you promise to take it easy on me, I may even agree to some surfing." Bella agreed and stuck her tongue out at Embry.

"Is you can always start on our beach. Since it is private there shouldn't be anyone else around, I know that is your main concern, collateral damage." Steve said with a smile. "You know I could teach you, but if you prefer Kono she could always come over this weekend."

"Perfect! We can plan on Saturday then. Oh, here is my personal number so you can contact me too." Bella settled.

"OK. Wrap up whatever is left of the paperwork and we will meet back here in the morning to get started on preliminary security arrangements. Given most of this will be liaising with Pearl-Hickam and HPD for Memorial weekend it was decided at the meeting to give us the rest of this week to focus on getting things set up. We will be on call for any major crimes for the following two weeks and then focusing back on security the week before the concert." Steve informed the team. "Cath will be coming in for the meeting in the morning to hammer some things out."

"Great. We were able to finish the paperwork while you were at the meeting, and had started doing background on our protectee just before she interrupted. Since we are finishing early, it means I will be able to catch the last ½ hour of Grace's practise. Is...Bella, I will let you know tomorrow about the tickets. Thank you." Danny added. "I will see the rest of you tomorrow. Steve, maybe we can talk about letting Grace know, huh?"

"Oh, from what Steve tells me you guys cook out a lot on weekends. Why don't we plan that for Saturday? Kono will already be there for surfing. Chin would that work for you? Obviously, Adam and Malia are invited as well. Danny, does that work? I don't think a lot of people should be invited, just because I am trying to keep a low profile until the concert week. But they are ohana, so should be safe. Maybe I should check with my security?" Bella planned and laughed as she turned to Embry while the team looked a little shocked at how much she knew about them.

"You know we take a back seat when you are with Steve, he knows you and what you need, so whatever you decide I am sure it will be fine. Let me know when I have to be there!" Embry deferred. "I am here purely for image, you know that. This is my vacation" he finished with a laugh.

"Just ohana. It should be fine. You guys don't mind explaining to Adam and Malia about the security concerns, right?" Steve agreed. Danny, obviously you are going to have to tell Rachel too."

"Let's focus on Grace. And yes, I will be informing Rachel tonight since I will probably see her at the practise. She was going to coordinate with some of the parents tonight for the night of the concert. Logistics and everything. I will just tell the other parents that as a perk of working the concert night that I was given tickets for Grace and her friends. I won't say anything to them about you. Grace will get the same message, if she asks, until this weekend." Danny decided as he made his way to exit HQ.

"OK. Goodnight everyone. See you tomorrow. Em you have a car to get back to the hotel, right?" Steve asked.

"Yeah man, no worries. You know I never stay with you guys. I will be hanging out at the hotel." Embry said.

"Goodnight everyone. It was great to meet you all especially after hearing such great things!" Bella waved good night as Steve dragged her from the conference room and HQ.

"You stay in a hotel when you visit?" Chin asked as he turned to Embry. Embry said they were family, ohana meant putting family up when they took the time to visit.

"Would you want to stay with them while they reconnected after months of being apart?" Embry asked with a laugh. "No, we all learned our lesson the first time around. It was one of Steve's first longer missions and Bells had coordinated with the USO and the Navy to give a concert at the base he would be returning to. We were all, and when I say ALL, I mean her security as well as his team and half that base, surprised either of them could walk and she didn't turn up pregnant." Embry told the team. "So now, whenever, wherever, her security stay in a hotel as far away as possible. You have to remember, most of her security is made of guys that think of her as their sister. This will be a bit different since usually we are closer but when she is with Steve she is perfectly safe, so we take a backseat for the time being."

"OK. I really don't know how to respond except to say you must have stories!" Chin replied a little taken aback by the answer, but also embarrassed of his question. It made perfect sense if he had thought about it a bit more.

"Ha, you have no idea. I am sure stories will be told over the next month now that Bells is around." Embry agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All publicly recognized characters are owned by their creators: SM, CBS etc.

A/N - Another chapter done! This one gave me fits. I really struggled since it is a bit of a transition chapter to move things along. As you may have noticed, I forgot about Lou! Don't know how that happened, but thankfully we aren't too far into it and I was able to fix it. The plan is for the next chapter to be the meeting and then the following one the barbecue.

 **5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI**

Danny made his way over to the field where Grace had cheer practice. Because of his schedule he wasn't able to make it over to see the actual practices like some of the other parents, so this was a rare treat. In the stands he could see Rachel sitting with a couple of the other parents. He recognized Kealani, Rose and Mahina's parents.

"Hello everyone" Danny greeted.

"Daniel, I didn't realize that you would be here tonight." Rachel returned amongst the hellos by the other parents.

"It wasn't in the plan but we were able to wrap up early and I thought that since I had some more information about the concert I would head over here and let you all know rather than play telephone through you or Grace." Danny answered the unspoken question.

"Ah yes, we were just talking about it" Kealani's dad, Sam, said "The girls are super excited. I lost rock, paper, scissors with my wife, so I am going to the concert while she sets up home for the sleepover." All the parents chuckled with understanding.

Verna, Rose's mom, said "I will be the other one going. My husband has a business trip that ends on Saturday, so I volunteered."

"Great! Rachel might have mentioned that I will actually be there too. Five-0 was tasked with security for Isabella given McGarrett's background and her concert at Pearl-Hickam on Sunday." Danny said.

"Yes, she let us know." Leilani, Mahina's mom said. "Now we just have to coordinate getting the tickets on Friday. I understand they go on sale at 10am, so I would suggest someone go online and order them and we can sort the money out after. I would say $100 per ticket is more than reasonable. We are also happy to help cover the cost of your tickets as well" she said to Sam and Verna.

"Well actually, I was informed today that I would have access to tickets for free due to my working the concert" Danny stated.

"Really Danny? I didn't think you could accept gifts." Rachel questioned.

"Yeah, special circumstances. I cleared it already and it is fine." Danny replied "So I will call them up tomorrow and let them know we will need 6 tickets. They will probably be left at will call for you and you will be able to pick them up there."

"That would be amazing! Thank you for letting us know. It will make things a bit easier since we just finished planning our summer holiday and this came up unexpectedly." Sam said. "Practice is wrapping up, but just to be clear, we are going to take the girls home from school and they will get ready at our house and go from there to the concert. We will have them overnight and you will pick them up the next morning. Tickets will be at will call and Danny will be at the concert working security. All set?"

All the parents agreed and started to gather their things as the girls made their way over. Grace had been held back by the coach about something as Danny looked over to check.

"Are you sure accepting the tickets is OK, Danny?" Rachel questioned again.

"Yes, I am not going to say anything to the other parents but I am glad that Grace hasn't come over yet. The tickets are a personal gift. I was informed today that Steve is married! To, you guessed it, Isabella!" Danny replied with a wave of his hands.

"Oh my! Really?" Rachel looked taken aback at the response.

"Oh yes. No one is supposed to know for security reasons, but she flew in early and surprised us all at HQ today. She is going to lay low for the next couple of weeks until she is 'supposed' to arrive and start doing some publicity. Obviously, since I didn't know, Grace doesn't know. Steve wants to tell her this weekend and have them meet. So, if she asks just tell her that we worked it out. They were a gift for working the concert." Danny said.

"Oh my." Rachel said again, "I am trying to get my head wrapped around the fact that the Commander is married. Are you OK?"

"Yes, I mean it was a surprise. I had no clue. They have been married for 5 years but for security reasons, his and hers, have kept it quiet. I don't know. It is weird but typical." Danny answered.

"Danno! What are you doing here?" Grace asked with a bounce in her step as she made her way over to her parents.

"It was a surprise. I don't make it over to see you often and since we wrapped early I thought I could see you. Also, I wanted to see your friends' parents about the concert and work on some of those details. How was practise Monkey?" Danny asked

"Oh, I am so excited about the concert. Rose and Mahina and Kealani are all super excited too. It is going to be amazing. I wonder where our tickets will be? When we buy them can we choose where we sit? Practise was good. The coach wants me to try flying next week. She wants to make sure we have a backup." Grace answered with her usual enthusiasm.

"As for the seats, usually you are able to choose where they are when you buy them. But we won't be able to do that for this concert." Danny told her and raised his hands to say 'hold on' as her face fell, "I was actually informed today that I would be getting free tickets for you and your friends, so they will be wherever they are assigned. I don't think it will be a problem."

"Really?" Grace squealed bouncing on her toes.

"Yes, really!" Danny answered. "Also, I wanted to let me know that Uncle Steve has some people in town and wanted to have everyone over for a barbeque Saturday. Does that work for you?" he asked looking at Rachel and Grace.

Rachel nodded her head, understanding the implied message of Danny's question. "We don't have anything scheduled on Saturday so it shouldn't be a problem" she said.

"Oh, who's in town? I love going to Uncle Steve's! Maybe we can go early and I can do some surfing with Kono?" Grace bubbled.

"I am sure we can work something out. I know Kono was planning go early to do some surfing on Saturday so it will be fine." Danny answered. "I will check with her to see what time she is planning to go over there and let you know what time I will pick you up. But I won't keep you any longer. I know your mom wants to get home for dinner." he finished pulling Grace in for a kiss to her forehead.

 **5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI**

The rest of the team made their way home and took advantage of having an evening that ended on time rather dragging into the night. Chin and Kono told their respective significant others about the barbecue planned at McGarrett's for the weekend.

Lou had court all day so was in the dark about the developments that had taken place.

 **5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWIv5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI**

Steve and Bella were able to keep it together enough to be able to make it home. But after, all bets were off. It had been 3 long months since they had seen each other in person. Skype and phone calls just weren't enough to satiate the need they had for each other.

"Haʻo wau iā ʻoe" Steve whispered into Bella's back as they lay in bed luxuriating in being reunited. He ran his fingertips along her spine; tracing each bump. "I know we've been doing this for years, but I don't know if I can keep being apart from you for so long." he continued. It was always easier for them to start these deep conversations without looking at each other. Neither of them were known for speaking their feelings openly. "It was one thing when I was on missions and you were touring but now that I have settled back here I think we need to re-evaluate things."

Bella continued to lay on her stomach and enjoy the feeling of his hands on her. She was quiet for a minute as she put her thoughts in order. She had been thinking the same thing for a while now too.

She shifted a bit to grab the hand of the arm she was laying on and traced the veins and scars that marked his hands. "I think so too. I've been thinking the same thing. It's stupid but I miss you more now that I know where you are all the time." She huffed a laugh as she turned so they could finally look at each other. "I was thinking that this tour is almost over and rather than go back to Forks or San Diego I would settle back here instead. My contract is also up for re-negotiation so I was going to be taking a bit of break anyway unlike last time. I want different things now. I need different things now, we need different things now." Bella continued earnestly.

"Yeah?" Steve questioned. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to or feel like now that things have changed for me that I expect you to change."

"Steve, when have you ever expected me to change who I am for you?" Bella asked. "You have accepted me warts and all from the beginning. If anything you have helped me grown into the person I am now. I've been thinking about this a lot the last month or so. For some weird reason every time my contract comes up for renewal I go through this self reflection. You know - you've just never been around for it. I blame Old Quil, but for me it's like this performance review - only for my life, given how much of my life is wrapped up in it. It's a time for me to reflect on what I have done right and what works for me and what I want to change or don't like about what has happened." Bella explained. "Anyway, after Edward left, you know how I was, but my dad really helped me to see who I was and start to accept and like that person. Spending time with Billy and the Pack after everything helped too. Hell, they helped me get the confidence to take that singing job! You know confidence in myself has always been my huge stumbling block. I feel like I am finally the person I was always meant to be. The changes that I, _we_ , are going to make are because we are married and joined our lives together." Bella finished.

Steve leaned over and ravished her mouth. "You don't know how happy that makes me." he said and continued to kiss her.

"Probably about as happy as I am!" Bella said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "There are still a lot of details to work out and talk about over the next month." she warned.

"I don't care. We will work it out." Steve returned as he pushed the sheet further down her body and continued to kiss his way down. "We can talk more tomorrow. Now, I am going to continue to make up for lost time."

"Hmmmm. You may proceed." Bella hummed enjoying the attentions of her husband.

Needless to say, no more talking took place that night.

The next day Steve and Bella continued to make up for lost time until they could not put off getting ready for their day anymore.

"We are going to be late!" Bella was saying as she dug through her suitcase. She was all discombobulated this morning. Usually when she and Steve spent anytime together it was rushed and he was up and out early the next morning for training or de-briefings. Being able to get ready together was throwing her all off since she kept getting distracted by her sexy husband.

"It will be fine. I will get us to the Palace in plenty of time. Cath isn't expected until later. I think we said 10, so we still have plenty of time to make introductions this morning." Steve soothed.

"Introductions?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah, did you notice someone missing yesterday?" Steve returned with a smirk and eyebrows raised implying she should know what he is talking about.

"Hmm. Oh, Lou wasn't there!" Bella caught on.

"Yeah, he was in court all day yesterday and missed the big reveal. Danny let me know he had checked in with him and Lou said his testimony was done so he should be in the office today." Steve informed her as he finished getting dressed and grabbed his badge and gun.

"OK. Do you think the rest of the team will have told him before we get there?" Bella asked.

"Oh no, they are going to enjoy his response when we tell him." Steve said with a chuckle. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Bella answered as she checked her pockets for her cell phone. "I'll text Embry on the way to let him know to be at HQ by 10 for the meeting with Cath."

So saying, they made their way downstairs. As they reached the door, Steve grabbed his keys as well as another set.

"Here. This for the front door and this is for the lanai." Steve said pointing to the appropriate keys as he handed them to her.

Bella stood there for a minute, not moving. "OK. Yeah. Right." she said when she took the keys from him.

"Are you OK?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah, of course. It just hit. I live here now too!" Bella told him with a laugh. "This will be the first time we actually live together since we got together!" she finished and leaned over to give him a kiss.

"I know. Let's go, we aren't going to hear the end of it anyway." Steve said as he dragged Bella out the door to make their way to HQ.

 **5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TWI5-0/TW** I

On a day the team didn't have any cases, they tended all get into the office around the same time. Early, but not obscene like when they are working a case. This morning as was the norm, Chin got in first and brought up the background information they had pulled up on Bella the day before, followed by Danny and Lou and Kono coming in last. Her hair was wet, so she had obviously hit the beach for some early morning surfing first.

"So what did I miss yesterday? I will tell you, sometimes I wonder if catching the criminals really makes up for having to sit through the torture of testifying in court. I am on the fence after yesterday." Lou greeted Chin and Danny.

"When we talked last night you didn't say if there were any problems. I assume it all went well." Danny asked in part to deflect from Lou's original question.

"It went fine. But how many times are they going to ask the same question. The defense gets worse and worse each time. The guy was clearly guilty. In fact, he confessed! But now, he was 'under duress'. Whatever. It's done and should be finally finished next week if the DA is anyone to go by." Lou answered. "Now, yesterday? What happened?"

"Well, we are officially on stand down for the rest of this week to wrap up this last case and prep for our next assignment. That is what this is" pointing to the background information on the monitors. "We are coordinating the security for a concert series at the end of the month for the holiday weekend." Chin stepped up to answer.

"So, what is outstanding for the case? What do you need me to do?" Lou answered prioritizing the last case to be addressed first so they could close the book on it.

"Just your report from the arrest and interviews. Whenever you can get that done today or tomorrow would be good. We are having a meeting, all of us, at 10 so fit it in where you can." Danny answered.

"Will do. So why are we the ones running security for this concert? Isn't that more the responsibility of the singer and HPD?" Lou questioned as Kono walked in.

Danny and Chin looked at each other. Chin realized Danny had kept the news to himself. He certainly didn't want to be the one break the news they found out yesterday, so went with the easy answer which made Kono start laughing.

"Well, she is doing a public concert on Friday night and then a concert at Pearl-Hickam on Sunday for the military families. I guess with Steve's connections they thought we were the better ones to coordinate everything." Chin answered with a snorting Kono in the background.

"I guess that makes sense. But why is Kono laughing?" Lou asked puzzled.

Chin and Danny look at each other again.

"And where is McGarrett? I would have thought he would be here by now." Lou questioned further which sent Kono back into hysterics laughing so hard she was bent over.

"Kono get control of yourself. It isn't that funny." Danny said.

"Nnno, it isn't, but the looks between you two are hilarious." Kono laughed through her answer but started to gain some control.

"OK, now I am worried. I assume nothing is wrong with McGarrett or you would have told me and Kono wouldn't be laughing. But what is going on?" Lou asked at close to shout.

As Danny and Chin were working out exactly what to say, Bella and Steve made their way into the office

"What's so funny?" Bella asked Kono.

"These two." Kono answered waving her hand between Chin and Danny. "They didn't want to say anything and have been dancing around what happened yesterday."

"Well, it isn't really our news to tell, now is it." Danny interjected.

"No, you're right Danny. It is our news to tell." Bella agreed and walked up to Lou to introduce herself and shake his hand. "Hi, you must be Lou Grover. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Ah, nice to meet you too." Lou shook her hand and responded a bit bewildered. "Who are you?"

"Bella McGarrett." Bella answered. "Steve's wife."

Lou shook his head as if to clear it.

"What?!" Lou asked. "Since when are you married!?"

Steve jumped in then, "I, we've, been married for 5 years but aren't really public with it."

"Given our careers it has just been safer if people don't know that we're married." Bella said.

"I can understand, him" Lou said pointing to Steve, "but what do you do that would make it easier for people not to know you are married?"

"Do I look a lot different?" Bella asked gesturing to the publicity photo on the monitor.

"I'll take this one." Kono said after seeing dubious looks from the men. "Yes, especially when you are dressed as a feminine Steve in cargo pants even if you do pair them with dressy tops. It doesn't quite match up with photos of you."

"Is it because I look better now or in the photos?" Bella asked with glint in her eye. Steve laughed.

"Ah, I am not sure what you are looking for here." Kono answered.

"Well, I don't pick out my clothes for publicity photos. A...friend, does and she swears that her choices are best since she knows fashion. But if you say I look better as myself, then I can argue with her a bit more about her choices!" Bella answered with a bit of triumph in her voice. "Honestly, I don't care about clothes at all except to see if they fit ok and are they comfortable which is why I was so excited when Steve told me about cargo pants."

"Of course! I should have guessed!" Danny interjected.

Bella looked at him with a question, but ultimately ignored him in favor of drilling back to her point. "In the beginning it was best, because I was purposefully creating this other identity and didn't want people to confuse the two. But now, I am in a different place. AND, she picked out one of the worst outfits for the last shoot." Bella finished stridently.

"OK. I guess this is for me too, since I know none of the guys will touch this with a 10 foot pole. You look more confident and yourself in these clothes." Kono gestured to what Bella was currently wearing. " In the photos, it does the job you want which is to be a different person." Kono answered.

"So what you are saying is I'm stuck with her." Bella said with a little pout. Just then, her phone dinged with a text.

 _Yes, you are stuck with me forever! You know you love me! - Alice_

Bella stuck her tongue out at her phone. Steve laughed again since he had been on the receiving end of quite a few Alice induced rants from Bella.

"Now hold on. Hold on. We seem to have gotten off topic. I repeat, since when have you been married! And even if the public couldn't know what about your team. How could you keep that from us?" Lou asked a bit hurt.

"Like I said, we've been married for 5 years now and it was just safer. It wasn't a slight against you, any of you, that I didn't tell you about Is. I just got in the habit of not talking about her except to those who knew her. She has been touring and hasn't had a chance to come to Hawaii before now." Steve answered.

"Did any of you know?" Lou asked the rest of the team.

"No, no, not really." came from Danny, Kono and Chin.

Lou zeroed in on Chin. "What do you mean, not really?"

"Well, you have to remember I knew Steve's dad. I drove John to the airport when he flew out for the wedding, but I didn't know who she was or if they were still married." Chin answered.

"So who knew about you guys?" Lou asked.

"Well, Mary and my dad were there for the wedding. Some of my teammates who were there when I met her and Cath." Steve answered.

"Oh, my whole family knows Steve." Bella answered and got a dirty look from her husband. "But you have to realize that I really don't have any friends outside my family and Cath. Well, that sounded pathetic, but I just haven't had time or inclination to make any 'new' friends." she finished. "I don't know if that is better?"

"Well, we are going to change that!" Kono answered.

"Right, so let's focus on some work. Lou, do you want to start in whatever paperwork you have outstanding? Cath and Embry, Is's security, will be here at 10 for a meeting about the concerts." Steve stepped in to hopefully derail any further interrogation. "Chin, Danny and Kono do you want to start doing a work up of what we need for coordinating the security? Is can answer questions you have until the meeting."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: All publicly recognized characters are owned by their creator: SM, CBS etc.

A/N: The Throwdowns are a real band from Maui and Erin Smith did have a solo album in 2014. I also want to apologize for the huge delay in getting this chapter out. I had like 99% of it done but then lost the thread of where I was going with it for the next couple of chapters so couldn't finish. Then RL got in the way for a while. I am going to try and bang out the next chapter this weekend. Keep favoriting and reviewing! I do appreciate the inquiries for updates :)

The next couple of hours were spent on their assigned tasks. Lou was holed up in his office finishing up paperwork. Chin, Danny and Kono began to put together the questions they had about coordinating for the concert at Pearl-Hickam, while Steve spent time finishing up his paperwork with Bella going between the two.

"So the schedule for that week is this," Chin says tossing the schedule Bella gave them up onto the monitors. "Friday evening beginning at 6pm are VIP meet and greets, the concert starts at 7:30pm with her opening act and Isabella getting on stage at 8:30pm. The concert should be finished by 10pm. Saturday is open with publicity visits scheduled with area Memorial Day festivities. Sunday is the concert at Pearl. We need the more detailed schedule from Cath but it should start at 1pm and finish at 5pm."

"Sounds good. It all seems very straight forward. I am a little confused. Aside from Steve's connections to the base and obviously, Bella, why is Five-0 in charge of this coordination." Danny questioned. "Don't get me wrong, I am more than happy to take the cushy assignment, but I don't think we have all the information"

As he finished, Bella and Steve came out of his office and Embry and Cath came into HQ.

"Well, you aren't wrong." Embry stated. "This should be a plumb assignment and the coordination of things through you guys just made sense with everything and the concert on base. But…" Embry trailed off and looked at Bella.

She rolled her eyes because she knew her husband was about to overreact. "There have been a couple of fan letters that security has flagged as 'concerning'" Bella told them using air quotes to emphasize the classification.

"WHAT!" Steve shouted. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, we were a little busy last night and I had other priorities." Bella shot back. "They only really became concerned the day before last with the latest letter and I knew I was going to be seeing you in person so told them to hold off calling you about it." She explained.

"Fine. I accept that, but I still would have liked to know sooner rather than later." Steve backed down.

"We didn't fight her, since I was coming with and was going to tell you today if she hadn't." Embry added.

Bella stuck her tongue out at him. "I was planning to tell them all together. I wasn't going to hide it." she argued. "Speaking of, shouldn't we get Lou out here?"

"Right, LOU!" Steve barked out gaining the Captain's attention. Steve gestured for him to join them.

"Lou, this is Embry Call. He is heading Is's security for this part of the trip. You know Cath. She is coordinating the base concert." Steve introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Embry." Lou shook Embry's hand and looked up into his face. "There aren't many people who are taller than I am. I look forward to working with you. Cath, good to see you.

"Nice to meet you too. Sorry I missed the introduction yesterday." Embry returned.

While Lou was speaking with Embry, Bella shot over to Cath and pulled her into a hug. "It is so good to see you! I've missed talking to you." Bella said.

"It's good to see you too. I am glad I was able to put this together! It is going to be great." Cath greeted back.

"OK, now that we all know each other. Let's start breaking this down. Chin why don't you start us off. I figure we will move through chronologically from Friday to Sunday, unless you need to get right back Cath?" Steve questioned.

"Nope. I cleared my morning and early afternoon for this. I have reduced duties this week and then the week before Memorial Day to help coordinate the details. It works fine for me." Cath agreed. "Plus, I thought after the meeting we could have lunch Bell."

"Sounds good to me. We have to catch up. Kono you are welcome to join us!" Bella agreed.

"Right, so Monday your public schedule says you are flying into Oahu. You have publicity events scheduled for that week including radio and tv spots. I assume Embry is handling the security for those?" Chin asked.

"Yes. Monday through Friday evening will be business as usual with my handling her security for those public events." Embry agreed. "Five-0 and HPD I assume will handle the concert in Honolulu and base security will handle things on Sunday."

"Great. So Friday evening starts with VIP meet and greet at 6pm. How are those handled?" Danny continues.

"Well, generally, the radio stations or fan clubs give those tickets away. I am doing it a bit different here, the meet and greet is going to be made up of kids of the HPD. Angela, she handles my publicity, should be coordinating with…." Bella trailed off for a minute to think of the contact person. "Oh, a Sargent Lukela. There are 10 tickets to be raffled off." Bella pulled up her iPad with all the details they had worked out. "OK, Ang says that raffle tickets will be available through Sgt Lukela for $10/3 tickets. The money will then be given to the Police Benevolent Society and I am matching the donation. I will be pulling the winning tickets on Friday morning when I go to HPD." Bella finished reading off.

Chin, Danny and Lou looked a little stunned. They had each worked security details for concerts in Hawaii, Jersey and Chicago and none of them had seen this before. Not all artists were jerks, but they also weren't always about charity either.

"Wow, ok. That answers that, so we don't have to worry about wack jobs at the meet and greet. We should we having normal concert details requested through HPD though." Danny continued trying to work through what he was seeing. 'She seems a bit too good to be true." he thought.

"Who is your opening act?" Kono jumped in.

"I have the record company use local acts for each of my shows. It gives them some free publicity and exposure. Em, do you know who it is here?" Bella asked.

"The Throwdowns" Embry answered reading from his tablet. "They are from Maui. The singer, Erin Smith is going to do a solo set from her album too."

"They should be easy enough to check out." Danny said.

"So Isabella goes on stage at about 8:30pm, correct?" Chin asked

"Yes. We try to keep it as close to that time as possible, but obviously there is some wiggle room with how much the opening act connects with the audience." Bella confirmed.

"So you are on stage from approximately 8:30pm until 9:30pm." Chin again asks trying to get the details worked out. Embry snorts.

"More likely, she is going to get off stage at 9:45, 9:50. She always runs long. There hasn't been a concert that she has ended at 9:30 since she started." Embry informs them.

"Yeah, you're right. My timing in rehearsals is always fine. But once I get up there I tend to wing it." Bella agrees with a small laugh.

"Wing it? How do you wing an hour long concert?" Danny questions.

"Well, sure the song list is set. I generally don't change that because it can really throw things off sound wise once the concert starts. But people bring signs, I bring people up on stage, things happen! When I was first starting out singing I kept to such a strict code of the time frame that I lost a bit of my creativity and enjoyment of it. In my mind, a concert shouldn't end before 10pm if it starts at night. So, that is what happens. Start time and end times are fixed, everything else in the middle is fluid." Bella elaborated. "I flow."

This gets another snort from Embry.

"Shut up. You know too much" Bella shoots over to him and pinches Steve who was manfully trying to hold in his laugh.

"Moving on. The concert should finish up at 10pm and everyone goes home to their beds." Bella said.

"OK. So Saturday. Nothing is here for your schedule except to say publicity." Kono helps move them along.

"Yeah. I didn't know what Steve had planned for the weekend and I wasn't sure what would stick out to me. So, I figure if there is a cause or issue that is having something on Saturday I could keep that open. Otherwise, enjoying home until the next day." Bella explains.

"I am going to turn it over to you Cath to outline Sunday." Chin says.

Cath walked to the front of the room and handed a thumb drive to Chin to load for the monitors.

"Right. So the base will be open like normal, but the venue will open its doors at noon. The concert is only open to military personnel and their families. Families who have lost a loved one to action are also being included. This is pretty standard for an Isabella concert on base." Cath informed the team.

"The concert will start at 1pm with the national anthem, followed by a moment of silence for those that have been lost. There is also going to be a video montage of the personnel lost at the attack on Pearl. Given it's the 65th anniversary and so many of the WWII veterans are dying out we thought it was appropriate. There will also be a section for those who survived the attack but have since died." Cath continued. "Then Isabella will get on stage and perform for approximately an hour."

"What type of security will the base be handling on Sunday?" Danny asked.

"They will be doing what HPD will be for you on Friday night. Crowd control, clearing people to get on base and directing people entering and exiting the base." Cath answered.

"So what do you need from us prior to the event?" Steve asked. He was the one with the least amount of experience handling this kind of situation. He had never worked a security detail like Chin, Danny or Lou and he always enjoyed Isabella concerts as her husband. Her publicity or Cath had always organized them in the past.

"Basically a sit rep after the event on Friday. Give us a heads up if there is anything unusual happening. This is a unique situation since she is doing back to back concerts. Usually her base performances have been in country or when stateside not in conjunction with a previously scheduled performance." Cath told him.

"OK. That will be easy enough to do on Saturday. Do you want us there to provide back up on Sunday? I mean, I will obviously be there, but what about the rest of the team?" Steve questioned.

"Ah, it's up to them. Unless something drastically changes between then and now I don't see the need. It should be fairly routine, but it would be a free concert so obviously you're welcome to come." Cath answered.

"Let's leave it open. But that brings us to the thing that could cause this to change from a routine situation to not. Embry can you log us into the security software you use to track her mail and bring up the concerning letters?" Steve asked turning to Embry.

"Sure, sure. I am also going to bring in Seth, since he is the one who wrote the program we use to determine concerning letters." Embry said as he moved to the smart table and started to log them in and bring us the conferencing software.

"So here are the letters. There have been 5 over the last year, but what is concerning first is that the last 3 have come over the last 3 months." Embry told the team as Seth came up on the monitor. "Seth do you want to explain what the program looks for when flagging a letter?"

"Sure, sure. This was actually one of the first programs I wrote and I am constantly tweeking it based on new things I learn. What we do is scan all of the mail to Isabella into the program. It is set to identify repeating or threatening phrases, analyze handwriting and tag the frequency of the letters from specific senders." Seth explained as he highlighted for them on one of the letters the things the program had picked up. "It was really inefficient to have one or two people handling all of her mail. Whether responding to fans, identifying issues or managing the volume, it was just too much and with the security questions it just made sense to write a program that did that part of it."

"So what you are saying is that this person started out as a 'normal' crazy fan but has since stepped up in the last couple of months?" Danny asked.

"Exactly. There will always be the nuts. Latch on to celebrities or whatever and reach out to them. They send one letter a year or so. It's normal. Then you have the teenage fans who reach out. More and more of them do that through the social media avenues that Ang has set up so we know the letter writers are going to be more of the crazy. This guy sent 2 letters over 9 months, while it dinged in the system no phrases within the letter were flagged, so was set to low priority. We don't even let her regular security know about those since they are so low. But then the next 3 letters came over 3 months and the letters themselves became more concerning. I still wouldn't say we have a full stalker situation. But it is more concerning especially since the letters come through California and Hawaii." Seth elaborated further.

"You sound like you are an FBI profiler, what are you 12!" Danny exclaimed.

"HA! No, I'm 25 and I just graduated with my bachelors and masters in psychology and computer science. I took courses through Quantico when I could on profiling and behavioral psychology. I knew from the time I started college I wanted to make sure Bells was as safe as possible and I had plans to eventually go into police work like Charlie." Seth informed him.

"WHOA! Well, I'm impressed. You've done a great job here. Can we print off these letters from the system so we have copies to work with?" Danny asked.

"Sure. Embry should be able to do that from there. I have also scanned in the envelopes for those letters written old school and the IP information we have for the emails. Em, you should be able to export those to their drives, or at least a thumb drive they can upload." Seth told him. "Also, Steve I have set you up in the system now that you are going to be around. I have emailed you the log in details to your personal account."

"Thanks Seth. In your opinion what do you think we are dealing with? Is this person violent? Man, woman? Anything would be helpful." Steve asked.

"Sure. I've consulted with someone who has been around a bit and we think it is a man in his mid to late 20s. Has a normal job which he enjoyed until about 3 months ago. I think his stress event happened which caused him to break with reality. Not so much so that people would notice in his day to day life. But privately he is acting more in a fantasy world than reality. I don't think he is violent, but without more information I wouldn't bet her life on it." Seth detailed.

"Right. OK. Thanks Seth for the insight. I am going to give the hard copies to Cath as well, so they have all the info. With them coming in from both CA and HI we may be looking at someone attached to the military but Oahu has so many business people that hop back and forth I don't want to limit our search." Steve said.

"No problem. If you need anything else for me let me know. If we get anymore here I will be sure to let all of you know." Seth said wrapping up. "Bells, Ang said to call her today about the rest of the publicity while you are there. She is stuck at home and is focused on that rather than killing Jake."

"Hahaha. Sure, sure. I will call her after lunch today. Tell her not to kill him, she will end up regretting it after the hormones recede!" Bella answered and signed off from Seth.

"So, we know how those couple of days are going to go. We will focus on these letters the rest of this week to see if we can track down who this person is before they become an even bigger problem. Is, I know you are here under the radar, but I still want you to have protection if you are out and about. This means that Embry or myself is around when you leave our house." Steve says and ends with a bit of a smile. Bella smiles back, she gets it. This is the first time they will actually be living together! But then the reality of what Steve is saying sinks in.

"Everywhere?!" Bella asks.

"Everywhere. You have never had a serious threat like this before. It is something that you have no experience with. It is also something that Embry and the rest of the guys don't have experience with like this, but it is this type of thing that they have been training for. This is something that we can help with and hopefully resolve so it doesn't drag on but I need you to cooperate like you do for other things." Steve explains in vague terms given the present company. He was fully aware of the red headed threat that was handled before he met Bella. The Pack was versed in the supernatural threats but had been training for these more mundane human threats and now they would be able to see if it would all pay off. But he was happy to be able to help out since it did seem to be a threat from a human.

"OK. I will be a good girl." Bella says with a smirk of her own. "I will think of this like any other concerns the guys have had in the past, but you have to keep me in the loop. This is going to be a test for everyone included - no hiding things to 'protect' me." She says using finger quotes around protect. "I don't want you to fail."

"Is, you know me. I tell it like it is. I won't hide things from you." Steve returns pulling her into his arms. "We are in this together."

"I know. But I also know this is the first time you are going to be around for something like this and I know how you can get." Bella says settling into his arms.

"Great. Now that it is settled we can focus on these letters." Danny jumped in. "Cath, it looks like we are good for the concerts for now. As we think of anything we will feed you info about these letters, please do the same. I think we will need to touch base before the concert on Friday. When is sound check?" He asked.

"Sound check will happen Friday afternoon, after I go to HPD." Bella answered.

"So we will be there for that and we can go over the timeline and expectations for the rest of the weekend." Danny planned.

"Sounds good to me." Embry said. "It fits in well with the pre-concert meeting we usually have with event security. While she is running sound check, I meet with security and event coordinators."

"Now that that is all worked out, I'm hungry. Kono did you want to join us for lunch?" Bella asked moving on.

"Actually, I am going to stay here and start to work on the letters. I am sure we will have a chance to get to know each other on Saturday. I will see you in the morning to start your lessons. This gives you and Cath a chance to catch up too." Kono answered.

"OK. Give me a call and let me know when to be ready on Saturday." Bella said and turned to Steve. "I will see you a home tonight. Let me know if you need anything. I am going to go to lunch with Cath and then head home." She said reaching up to give him a kiss.

"Mm mm. OK. I will let you know if I am running late. Do you think you could make your lasagna?" Steve asked.

"Yes. I will stop at the store before home." Bella agreed. "I'll miss you."

"I will see you soon." Steve said as he released her to go to lunch.

"Cath, let's go. Where do you want to have lunch?" Bella asked turning to her friend. "Remember how much Em eats!"

"There is a food truck that has a great view and fantastic food." Cath answered with a grin.

"I like!" Bella answered heading for the door out of HQ. "Come on Em. Let's get out of here!"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All publicly recognized characters are owned by their creator: SM, CBS etc.

A/N: I struggled with this chapter. The original plan was the barbeque but then I thought about the lunch and all the work Five-0 would do the rest of the week. I wanted to make sure the Bella/Cath relationship was fleshed out but I am eager for Grace's reaction. This actually caused some of the delay in the last chapter as I hate to end a chapter and not know how the next one will progress. But I have decided to stick to the plan and find other ways to accomplish my goals. I did however decide to break the BBQ up into 2 chapters, so we get the Grace/Bella intro here and the rest of the BBQ next chapter. But I promised a chapter last week and was delayed, so... Enjoy!

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The sun was peaking above the horizon, while Bella and Steve were tangled together on their bed. Even in sleep they entwined their bodies together, leaving no room between them. The single 'beep' from his phone woke Steve. It was his usual time to go out and swim. An activity he had been putting off all week to stay in bed with Bella. He debated for a minute with a smile, but he really was craving a return to the sea.

Leaning down to kiss a line down Bella's throat to her chest, Steve decided to try and entice his wife to join him. It was something they did when possible. They weren't always around water and Bella wasn't the swimmer he was but it was an activity they could do together and the one sport that was less likely to leave victims.

"Mmmm, I love waking up to you in the morning." Bella murmured as she gradually woke to the caresses from Steve.

"Would you like to join me for a swim, ke aloha?" Steve asked with his lips pressed against her stomach.

Bella sighed, "yeah, that would be fun. We can't spend the day in bed since we are having guests today. We might as well go for a swim. What time is it? How long do we have before Kono, Danny and Grace show up?" she questioned as she enjoyed Steve's continued attention.

Steve glanced over to the clock, "they should be here in about an hour. Danny and Grace may get here a bit earlier but we have plenty of time for a swim before they descend." he answered.

"OK, let's go swim." Bella agreed. So saying, she leaned over to brush a quick kiss across Steve's lips before getting up to put a swimsuit on.

When they went out to the lanai, Bella dropped the towels and water on the chairs. "You head off and swim your workout. I am going to stick a little closer to the shore. I don't want to wear myself out before my first surf lesson." Bella said to Steve as they made their way into the water. "When you are done, come and find me." she finished with a smile.

"I will be done in a half hour. It should give us enough time to play before they get here." Steve told her as he grabbed her for a bone melting kiss before diving into the water to start his laps.

Bella started swimming up and down the beach. Stretching and warming up her muscles so she was set to start her lessons when Kono arrived. She was kind of nervous about meeting Grace. From speaking to Steve, she knew how much the little girl, really young woman, meant to Steve. She didn't want their situation to ruin their relationship or Grace to feel displaced. She knew from her own experience that this was going to be tricky.

All of a sudden she felt a yank from below, "Ah!" she yelped as she gulped some air to hold her breath as she went under.

As she became submerged she saw her husband with the biggest grin staring back at her. He leaned in and shared some breath with her through a kiss. Bella latched onto him and deepened the kiss. Thankfully, Steve brought them up when they started to run out of air. It was a favorite trick of his.

"So ko'u aloha, are you ready to play now?" Bella teased.

"E kipa mai." Steve said as he pulled her towards him and slipped his hands in and around her bathing suit. It always turned her on when he slipped into Hawaiian. He discovered that accidently the first time they were together. For Steve, sometimes his feelings were conveyed better in Hawaiian. It helped that not many people understood the language to keep him feeling protected.

It was something he had dreamed of doing, making love to his Isa in the ocean behind his home, and something they had done frequently since Isa arrived earlier that week.

After they finished Bella rested against him enjoying the connection they shared. As Steve moved to keep them connected he saw his watch. "Ke Aloha, Danny and Gracie should be arriving soon. I don't think you want to meet her like this, do you?" Steve said.

"Oh God! No. OK, kiss me again. It is going to have to hold me over until this introduction is over and my surf lesson." Bella replied and pulled him closer.

As Steve moved back he saw Danny wave from the lanai, "they are here." he told her.

"OH! OK. You head up. I will be right behind you. Once I get myself together." Bella said with an edge to her voice.

"Relax Isa. It will be fine. She is going to love you." Steve reassured her as he turned to make his way up the beach.

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As Steve and Bella were enjoying their swim Danny was getting his eager daughter and bringing her over early for surfing with Kono and unbeknownst to her, Bella.

"Monkey, are you all set? Did you put your sunblock on? Do you have a change of clothes?" Danny questioned as Grace opened the door.

"Relax Danno. Mom helped me put together a bag and I have everything. I am all set for surfing at Uncle Steve's. I can't wait!" Grace exclaimed.

"Fantastic!" Danny replied with some sarcasm. Turning to Rachel he said, "I'm not sure how late the barbeque will go. I will try and have her home for 8pm at the latest, but I will keep you updated."

"8pm is fine. Stan and I are going to the club for a business meeting he has this afternoon but it should wrapped up by then. We'll text. Let me know if I'm needed for anything." Rachel responded vaguely alluding to any issues Grace may have with Steve's wife.

"No problem. OK, Monkey let's hit the road." Danny said grabbing Grace's bag from Rachel and ushering his daughter to the car.

"So, you know you are going to meeting some new people today, right?" Danny asked.

"Yup. You said Uncle Steve has some friends in town. Do you know who they are? Have you met them?" Grace asked.

'Of course she asked the hard questions.' Danny thought.

"Yeah, I got to meet them earlier this week. There is a guy named Embry who seems like a nice guy and a girl named Bella. They both seem like good people." Danny answered. He didn't want to lie, but it wasn't really his story to tell at this point. A small part of himself also wanted to see his daughter's face when she realized Bella was Isabella.

"Cool." Grace said. "Kealani and I were talking yesterday about the sleepover and concert at the end of the month. We're so excited. It is going to be so much fun to see the concert and then the sleep over. There are a bunch of girls who are really jealous they we got tickets because their parents tried to get them online Friday but they were sold out by the time they tried. They were picking on Kealani" Grace informed Danny.

"I'm glad you are excited Monkey. You should have a good time. This is your first concert. It is a big event!" Danny replied. "I'm sorry those girls were picking on you. It's sad they weren't able to get tickets but unfortunately, life isn't fair sometimes. I am sure their parents tried. You never know. Isabella may come back and do another concert soon." he finished.

"That would be super cool. Too bad she couldn't add another concert on Saturday. Then everyone who couldn't get tickets could go then." Grace suggested.

It always amazed Danny how kind hearted his daughter could be.

"She has never come to Hawaii before, so the tickets are super in demand. I was listening to the radio and they were giving away some tickets and saying that tickets through third party sellers are going for over $800 per ticket! Can you believe that Danno." Grace exclaimed.

"I have heard that tickets for events like these can get really expensive but I can't believe people would pay that. If they didn't pay then the prices would go down." Danny ranted a bit as they pulled into Steve's driveway.

Grace jumped out of the car and Danny was quick to follow. "Grace, Monkey, make sure to ring the bell." Danny told her.

'God knows what she would walk in on if she didn't!' Danny thought.

"But shouldn't Uncle Steve be swimming now? Kono isn't here so they haven't started surfing. He is probably still on the beach." Grace asked innocently as she rang the bell.

"Possibly, but it is always more polite to ring the bell unless told otherwise." Danny replied as they waited. After a minute or two, he decided to use his key, and opened the door. "Steve….Bella?" Danny called as he inched the door open listening closely for sounds his daughter shouldn't hear.

"I think you were right, they are probably down on the beach. Why don't you head up and leave your bag in the guest room." Danny suggested as he moved back to the open lanai.

"OK Danno." Grace said as she made her way up the stairs.

Danny stepped out onto the lanai and saw Steve and Bella wrapped around each other in the water. It didn't look like anything was going on he wanted to see but just then Steve looked up and he waved before turning back into the house to give them some time to collect themselves.

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As Grace was coming back down the stairs, Steve made his way into the house. "Hey! Have you guys had breakfast yet? Kono isn't here yet, I asked her to come a bit later so we could get the introduction out of the way." Steve said.

"I told mom I would eat here, but she made me have some toast before Danno picked me up." Grace said.

"Well, toast isn't going to cut it for a day of surfing!" Steve replied. "How would you like some egg white omelettes and pancakes?"

"Pineapple pancakes?!" Grace exclaimed.

"Is there any other kind in this house?" Steve answered.

"Of course there are other kinds, there are plain, blueberry, chocolate chip! You know the normal kinds of pancakes, normal people eat.!" Danny entered the conversation ranting.

"But Danno, pineapple pancakes are the best!" Steve teased.

"Uncle Steve where are your friends?" Grace asked innocently.

Steve glanced out the window of the kitchen to the lanai and saw Bella pulling her sarong on and making her way to the house. "Well Embry is staying at a hotel. He doesn't like to stay with me when we visit" Steve answered. "And Bella is coming in from the water now." Steve answered as he made his way over to lean against the island and speak with Grace.

"Actually, Gracie there is something I wanted to talk to you about Bella. She isn't just a friend." Steve started.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Gracie sang teasing her uncle.

Steve took a deep breath, "well, she was my girlfriend for a long time. But she is my wife now." he told her.

Grace's face froze and fell at the same time. "How come you haven't told us about her? Did Danno know about her?" Grace asked.

"No, I didn't know about her until this week when she arrived. I wanted to give Uncle Steve the opportunity to tell you himself." Danny jumped in.

"Why didn't you tell us about her? Where has she been? Why hasn't she been here for you!?" Grace questioned.

As Steve started to speak, he saw Bella in the doorway, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her Gracie. Because of my job, and hers, we felt it was safer if we didn't talk about each other." Steve said with a tight voice. "Grace, you know how my dad died? Did Danno tell you about that?"

"He just said bad men broke in and killed him. You came back to find out what happened and shanghaied him into being his partner" Grace answered with a smile at the end repeating the oft told story of the beginning of their partnership.

"That is exactly what happened, bad men that I was tracking down to arrest found him and killed him. We didn't want that same thing to happen to Bella if we could prevent it. As for where she has been, she has a very demanding job that makes her travel a lot. Aside from my dad's funeral, she hasn't been able to get to Hawaii." Steve told her.

Bella stepped into the kitchen then saying, "But all that is going to be changing. I am going to be spending a lot more time on Hawaii now. Grace, it's so great to meet you. I know Uncle Steve hasn't told you much about me, but he has told me all about you. I have been so excited to meet you."

Grace turned and took in this stranger before her. She wasn't quite sure about her but her mother would never forgive her for being rude. "It's nice to meet you too." Grace whispered.

"How about this. Kono should be here soon. But, Uncle Steve and I haven't eaten yet. I know this is a huge thing to throw at you, so I am going to help Uncle Steve cook breakfast and you can keep us company. Feel free to ask any questions you have." Bella suggested. "Does that sound like a plan?"

"I guess." Grace answered still processing this huge change to her world. Steve was a relatively new person to her world, but he had become so integral to it.

As Grace sat at the island, Steve and Bella started working in the kitchen preparing omelettes, pancakes, bacon & juice.

"You're on pancake duty, and I will take omelettes. What do you want in your omelette, Danny?" Bella said.

"Bacon & Cheese is fine. Grace will just have cheese." Danny answered. "Is the open question forum open to me as well?"

"Nope!" Bella answered with a grin. "Only Grace. You can join the horde later today when we get bombarded."

"So Grace, what is your first question. Uncle Steve talks about you all the time so I know tons, but you don't know a whole lot. What would you like to know first?" Bella prompted.

"I guess, how long have you been married?" Grace asked.

"We have been married five years. We dated for about 18 months before we got married. It was really hard with how much traveling we both did but especially the missions Uncle Steve was sent on. We just didn't want to have to deal with the red tape anymore, so we got engaged and married within a week!" Bella answered with a laugh.

"Don't get any ideas. You aren't dating until you are at least 30!" Danny yelled. "Don't give my baby ideas like that! Heathen!"

Bella laughed so hard she had to bend over next to the stove. "Don't make me laugh like that or you are going to end up with burnt eggs." she said.

"How did you meet?" Grace answered a little more warmly.

"We actually met the last week of my SEAL training on the beach in Coronado." Steve answered joining the conversation after focusing on preparing the pancake batter. "My team mates and I were playing on the beach and Is was sitting there writing in a notebook."

"Is?" Grace questioned.

"My name is Isabella. I prefer to be called Bella, but Uncle Steve has always called me Is or Isa." Bella answered with a side glance to Grace to see if she would make the connection.

Grace sat there for a minute thinking and looking at Bella. "Oh My God!"

"I think she figured it out." Bella said to Steve and Danny.

"What was your first clue?" Danny snarked.

"That's why you haven't been here? You've been touring?" Grace asked.

"Yeah. I have been on a world tour these past 2 years. I was able to get away for the funerals, but otherwise this was the first chance I have been able to get to Hawaii for any length of time." Bella answered.

"When was the last time you saw Uncle Steve before this week?" Grace asked with more sympathy.

"3 months. You know how Uncle Steve has to do training drills sometimes for the Navy? Well, he will generally, request in a location close to me so that we can get a day or two together." Bella said and turned to peck Steve on the lips.

"That is so romantic!" Grace squealed.

"I think so. But we did that a lot. I would try and give concerts for the Navy when I could because of him." Bella responded.

"OK! Breakfast is ready. Gracie do you want to help Danno set the table while Isa and I get the rest of it together?" Steve asked. "You know where everything is."

"OK Uncle Steve. Danno I'll get the plates and flatware." Grace said.

"Sure Monkey. I'll get everything else. What kind of juice do you want?" Danny asked.

"Orange and Pineapple. Mixed. They are the best!" Grace answered.

"Oh, that's my favorite too Grace. Orange was alway my favorite but Uncle Steve introduced me to pineapple. It's a bit too sweet for me, but mixed together is perfect." Bella agreed. "I'll have that along with my coffee. Thanks Danny."

"I don't trust you with my coffee or Isa's I will make it. But I will have pineapple juice." Steve joined in just as he heard the door open and Kono walk in.

"Are we placing orders?! I'll have some pineapple juice too. Thanks Danny." Kono called as she walked into the kitchen.

"When did you get here?" Danny asked as he assembled the tumblers.

"Just now. I heard Steve asking for pineapple juice. I figured there would be breakfast ready so I made sure not to eat." Kono answered.

"Kono, did you want an omelette?" Bella asked.

"No sistah. Pancakes and bacon are enough for me." Kono answered. "So Grace, what do you think about this news?!"

"Well, at first I wasn't sure since Uncle Steve hadn't told us about…." Grace trailed off. "What should I call you?"

"Bella is fine, sweetie." Bella answered.

"Bella, ok. So Uncle Steve didn't tell us about Bella but once I understood more I am fine. It is really cool that she is a singer." Grace continued.

"We actually have a lot in common Grace. My parents were divorced too and my dad was a police officer. I know you don't know me. But if any time something comes up and you have questions or want to talk to someone who knows feel free to come to me" Bella offered. It was something she had thought of often as Steve told her more and more about Grace. Children of divorce and children of cops went hand in hand many times and they encountered different challenges than either singular group. She knew.

"Hmm. OK." Grace accepted a bit unsure.

"No pressure. I just wanted you to know, I know what it's like and I am here." Bella said.

"Thanks." Grace answered simply.

"Well, let's dig in so you ladies can get on to your surfing." Steve said.

The rest of the breakfast went by, getting to know Bella and seeing how she fit with the ohana.

A/N: Translations

Ke Aloha = Beloved

Ko'u Aloha = My love

E kipa mai = Come to me

Thank you: Mari217, Sammy1026 & Ilna - "That is so romantic!" thanks for the inspiration.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

A/N: I decided to split this chapter further since it was getting away from me. If there are questions you want incorporated feel free to send them along and I might include them through the rest of the interrogation! Sorry for the delay but life and then trying to get this right it became overwhelming. Hopefully the final installment of the BBQ will be done next week. I look forward to any questions you send along!

Steve joined Danny on the lanai to watch the surf lesson. He wanted to give them some time to bond. It was important to him for Isa to build relationships with his ohana.

"So, how do you think Grace is doing with the news?" Steve asked.

"I think she is going to be ok. It is going to take some time for her to process everything. I think the way you explained everything helped put into perspective and also knowing what Bella does." Danny answered. "Give them time to find their own footing."

"I will. I know Isa is super excited about spending time with Grace, but she does know what it is like to have to meet important people at that age and how she felt. She won't push but will be there for when Grace is ready." Steve said.

They continued to sit in the quiet watching the ladies learning to surf from Kono until Steve decided to start preparing for the rest of the ohana to arrive.

Down at the water's edge, Bella and Grace were learning the basics of surfing.

"So now, you have to jump up find your balance on the board." Kono instructed.

"Oh boy. This should be good. You know I have been known to fall down walking on a flat surface let alone a piece of wood and fiberglass floating on water!" Bella laughed as she did as Kono said and promptly lost her balance.

"And we haven't even gotten to the water yet. We won't go out on the water until you can do this. Only then will we move to put the pieces together out there." Kono said encouragingly.

"Grace, good job. You are catching on quick. You will be out in the water soon." Kono continued to her youngest student.

"Thanks Auntie Kono." Grace said. "I've been practicing with Uncle Steve when Danno goes out." She giggled.

"We will keep that a secret from Danny. My lips are sealed." Bella said as she tried again and this time stayed upright.

"Good Bella. Feel those core muscles that you are using to stay upright even with the board in the sand. They are going to get even more of a work out when you get on the water." Kono guided. "You need to keep doing this until it is a smooth transition from lying down to standing up."

"Grace how long have you been practicing?" Bella asked.

"Danno agreed to Kono giving me lessons once I turned 12. So a couple of months now. We have even gone out in the water. I wipe out all the time." Grace answered.

"I'm sorry to have you go backwards. Steve has offered to teach me a couple of times but I have always found a way to distract him. I'm not the most athletic person." Bella offered.

"It's not a big deal. Practicing is always important. I can't hurt to get a reminder of basics." Kono interjected.

As they continued going over the muscles and positions that would help Bella improve her form while surfing Kono and Grace got to know Bella. After an hour or so Bella told Kono to take Grace out while she helped Steve start getting ready for the rest of the ohana to arrive.

"Are you sure? I don't mind." Grace questioned.

"Gracie, sweetie. It's fine. This has been a great start for me and I am sure Uncle Steve will want to put me through the motions tomorrow too. You go spend some time on the water with Kono." Bella answered.

"OK, we will see you in a bit. Come on Grace, I'll race you to the water." Kono jumped in.

Bella made her way up to the house and rinsed off in the outdoor shower. After wrapping herself in a towel she went into the kitchen to see how Steve was faring.

"How are things going in here?" Bella asked as she entered.

"It's coming along. The ahi has been put in the marinade you like. We still need to put together the green and fruit salad. Which do you want to do?" Steve answered.

"I'll do the green salad. You know I'm picky about what I like in a salad." Bella returned making her way to the fridge.

"Oh, picky? What don't you like?" Danny asked. He was curious how much Steve had corrupted Bella in food preference.

"Tomatoes and onions are a big no. I hate tomatoes, always have. I have weird food quirks. I blame my mother." Bella told him as she began pulling veggies from the fridge.

"How can you have a green salad without tomatoes? I understand onions, they aren't necessary. But a salad isn't really a salad without tomatoes." Danny said a bit indignantly.

'Oh boy, here we go' Steve thought. 'This should be interesting. He always found Isa's food quirks funny. Really it came down to her being a snob about food for the most part.'

"What about a Caesar salad? Those don't have tomatoes and are considered a green salad." Bella challenged.

"Well, by definitely you just said it's a Caesar salad. When you say you are going to serve a green salad people expect tomatoes." Danny shot right back.

"Well, when they come to my house you will get a great green salad with all sorts of yummy things, but no tomatoes or onions. If you want those, they will be provided on the side." Bella said imperiously. "My salads are awesome and I challenge anyone to say they miss tomatoes or onions once they are finished with it."

"I accept!" Danny shouted. "And who provides things on the side. This isn't a restaurant."

"I went through a phase where I wouldn't eat cooked vegetables so I had them on ice in a dish next to my plate." Bella informed him. "My mother was an adventurous cook but not a successful cook, so I took over cooking from a young age. I got to cook whatever I wanted. I make a mean lasagna."

"So you're a freak." Danny replied. "How can you hate tomatoes and still make lasagna? Unless...are you one of those heathens who use a white sauce for lasagna?"

"I resent that!" Bella cried and continued as she assembled ingredients for the salad "Everyone has their own quirks about food. It's the one true aspect of family culture that is taught to people from the cradle. Aside from allergies what people feel about food can be directly tracked to how their parents feel about food. Until kids reach school, for the most part, kids have no other exposure except for their parents and family to how and what they eat. And for your information, I am an NOT one of those heathens. Sauce is different." she finished firmly.

Steve sat back a bit and watched. Danny was actually the perfect example of what Isa was talking about so he couldn't wait to see how he would respond especially since they had now moved onto Italian food.

"Different? How is sauce different. It is tomato sauce is it not?!" Danny ranted, gesticulating wildly. "It uses tomatoes as the primary ingredient. You can't have a proper sauce unless you use tomatoes which you hate. Next you will say that ketchup is different too."

"Well it is! Ketchup is different. You can't tell me that you don't consider ketchup outside the tomato family. Also, I agree you need tomatoes to make a proper sauce, but they have to be prepared properly for me to eat it." Bella agreed and continued to assemble the salad stopping to pop nuts into the oven. "Really, at this point unless I am making it myself or in Italy I don't get any tomato based food."

Danny clutched his chest. He didn't even know what to say to this. It was like his brain had completed shut down upon this information.

Steve thought Isa may have truly done the impossible. She had rendered Danny Williams speechless! He wished he had videoed it. It was almost too good to believe.

As Bella finished up the touches to her salad, she looked over to Danny to see why he hadn't responded. She saw that he still had his hands clutched to this chest.

"Steve!" Bella yelled. "Is her OK?"

"Oh yeah. I think he is just in shock. I've told you about his thoughts on food. In particular Italian food. I think you have actually made him speechless! Congrats!" Steve crowed.

"Steve it isn't funny! He is just standing there. I want to make a good impression. Is he going to hate me now?" Bella worried.

The worry in her voice brought Danny back from the blue screen of death his brain had been stuck in.

"I don't hate you. I just don't think I can continue this conversation. There are too many things wrong with what you said to address at this time. Don't worry, we will get you fixed." Danny reassured.

Steve looked over and smiled at Danny. He was glad Danny was so accepting of Isa. As he went to change the subject he heard cars drive up to the house.

"It looks like everyone one has arrived." Steve stated as he went to the front door to let them in trailed by Bella.

Cath and Embry were getting out of the car he had rented as Chin was parking and Lou was pulling into the driveway.

"Em, didn't feel like squeezing into the 'vette?" Bella teased as she gave him a hug followed by Cath.

"Haha, Bells. You are just too funny. You know that I would open that thing up like a tin can if I even thought of trying to climb in it." Embry responded.

"Come in, come in. Make yourself at home. Kono and Grace are out on the beach and I'm sure Danny can be persuaded to join us on the lanai." Bella said as the rest of the ohana made their way into the house.

"Bella, it's nice to see you again. This is my wife Malia. Malia, Bella McGarrett." Chin introduced.

"Malia, good to meet you. Come on in and head out to the lanai. We will be right out as soon as I am introduced to everyone." Bella responded with a smile in greeting.

"Good to meet you as well. I can't wait to hear this story! Chin has been very hush hush on details." Malia gushed.

"Lou! Glad the whole family could come. You remember Isa." Steve greeted. "Isa, this is Lou's wife, Renee and his kids, Samantha and Will."

"It's nice to see you again Lou. Renee it is really great to meet you." Bella greeted with a hand shake. "And you guys too." she said to the kids. As she was meeting the Grover family, one more car pulled into the drive. "Go on through to the lanai. We will be right behind you."

"Isa, I would like to introduce you to" Steve begin.

"Adam, it's good to see you." Bella greeted the man.

It took him a minute, then "Isabella. I'm a bit confused. What are you doing here?" Adam asked baffled.

"I live here." Bella answered with a laugh. "Maybe this will help, nice to meet you. I'm Isabella McGarrett." she finished and wrapped her arm around Steve who continued to looked confused by the turn of events.

"Wait! You're Steve's wife?" Adam asked.

"OK. Hold on a minute and explain. You are taking too much delight in my befuddlement." Steve complained.

"Yes, dear." Bella giggled. "As you know Adam owns a number businesses, one of them is a hotel chain. I tend to stick to that chain when I can. Adam was doing a check in to the location I was staying in about a year ago and we were introduced professionally. We ran into each other again about 6 months ago. I actually didn't make the connection until you pulled up." she finished.

"It is nice to see you. This is going to be an adjustment." Adam admitted as he followed Steve and Bella through the house to the lanai.

"Me too." Steve agreed. "I'm not used to people who know Isa professionally knowing who I am."

"Adam!" Kono called. "I'm glad you were able to get away." She finished as she pulled him in for a kiss.

"I knew it was important to you." Adam murmured back.

Steve looked at the group surrounding him on the lanai. For the first time in a long time he felt complete. He was surrounded by all those he loved. Isa has finally joined him. He felt arms go around him and grabbed on knowing exactly who it was.

"OK. Since every is here now. Are you hungry? When do you want to eat?" Steve asked after taking a minute to savor the feeling of having his wife in his arms.

"Put the ahi on and we will set to eat in about 30 minutes. I thought we would just do a buffett in the kitchen and then eat out here. Does that work for everyone?" Bella asked. "I have bowls of snacks I was going to put out as well."

They all agreed. By unspoken consensus the interrogation was put off until everyone sat down for food. Everyone lended a hand to put the meal together as family does.

"OK. Now we are all fed and watered. We want details." Danny started, of course.

"Yes, we are all curious how you have kept this hidden and also have a seemingly healthy relationship." Lou agreed.

Bella and Steve looked at each other. They wanted to be as up front as possible but there were details of Bella's life that needed to be kept hidden at least for now. Embry decided to jump in to help a bit.

"Well, for the first year Bells was really touring non-stop. So their communication took place mainly via email and Skype. Then she decided to contact the USO about in country concerts. Thankfully, by that time we had gotten our security company up and running and were officially brought in as her security full time. She worked with Cath to coordinate those visits." Embry informed the group.

Steve decided to jump in, "After about 18 months, I had had enough. I knew she was the one for me and wanted to make it permanent. I knew it would be tough given our careers but it was worth it. It would also make things easier since legally we would be married."

"The only problem is that I had never had any desire to get married. I had seen what my parents split did to both my parents and my mother had drummed into my head that her life had ended when she was married so young. It took a lot of soul searching and many conversations with Billy and Leah to finally bring me around. I realized that my personality was much closer to my dad than my mom and I needed to finally be my own person." Bella continued. "I had been slowly working my way to being comfortable with the idea of me and marriage. Then he popped the question...over Skype!"


End file.
